Vacillating Between Good and Bad
by RedBenchArty
Summary: "Dalia Hayward, working with Bruce Banner in Calcutta, India. That's convenient, Don't you think? Like killing two birds with one stone." "Bring them both here. The Avengers Initiative will be reactivated as of now." Bruce/OC/Loki
1. Chapter 1

**I thought I'd give the idea I had for an Avengers story a try. I think they're just going to end up a bunch of ficlets though.**

"Dalia?"

Bruce Banner knocked twice at a doorframe. Colourful sheets were in place of a door.

"Dalia, are you in there?" He rapped once more, before he gingerly swept the curtain aside and tip toed inside.

The room was cluttered with books. Books lying opened, books in piles, There was hardly an inch of mattress left visible on the bed. There were books on medicines, books on illnesses, books on nuclear physics, and books on astronomy, but mostly there were books on legends.

Fairy tales, Mythology, Legends, of all origins. This was the material that Dalia loved.

Bruce bent down to pick up an opened, dog-eared book on radiation waves and closed it, propping it on a shelf, smiling to himself. He had no doubt in mind to where she would be. There was a small wooden stool, which Bruce had nudged aside with his foot. He stood on top of it and pulled on a little rope, revealing a pull-down ladder leading into another room.

"Dalia." He called softly, poking his head through the attic door.

A girl was sitting on the floor by a tiny window with her head in her hand and her other hand holding a massive red book. She looked up, startled, when she heard her name but her eyes softened when she saw who had called her.

"Oh..Bruce."

"I haven't heard from you since this morning." He chuckled softly, slowly making his way towards her.

The girl nodded and smiled apologetically, reaching out for him so she could bury her face in his chest.

"I'm sorry. I just get so captivated by these stories."

"I know you do, Dalia."

Bruce rested his chin on her head. They rested on the floor together, content with being in each other's arms. Bruce had been flooded with work in Calcutta. It was rare for him to have breaks when patients weren't sick or in need of medical help. But it kept his mind off his past trauma and he didn't mind. And anyways, it was how he met Dalia Hayward. Dalia looked up suddenly, eyes shining.

"Would you like to hear about the story I just read?"

"I would like that."

Bruce dragged a quilt that was crumpled up on the floor over them and pulled her closer. He was relaxed like this. There had been no accidents with the Other Guy for two years and he wanted to keep it that way.

**I'm sorry if this chapter seems really unsatisfying. That's how it feels to me. I'm hoping it gets better as it progresses.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Thanks for the reviews. I was surprised to see any at all, really. I hope you all enjoy this super short chapter and continue to read this story.**

Nick Fury loomed over the shoulder of a man, scrolling down a page on his computer. The room was dark and the screen of the computer was the only light source.

"Dalia Hayward, workin' with Bruce Banner in Calcutta, India. That's convenient, Don't you think? Like killing two birds with one stone." The agent asked, lingering on the picture of the young woman.

"She changed her last name." He continued, "Previously, Dalia Herringtin. A former agent for HYDRA. You sure this is the chick you want, Fury?" The agents mind began to wander. He started to think about fish. Wasn't Herringtin a type of fish? No, no, That was Herring. Well, close enough.

"Agent _Harrington_" Nice Fury corrected, "Is highly skilled in the acts of manipulation. She worked as a double agent for SHIELD and found out valuable information while posing as a member of HYDRA. Adams, are you doubting my choice of recruits?"

The agent snapped out of his thoughts and held up his hands in surrender. "Meant no disrespect, sir."

Fury didn't hide his dissatisfaction well and turned to Maria Hill in an attempt to conceal his expression to the man in front of him. She stood to the back of the room, by the door, watching him closely.

"Bring them both here. The Avengers Initiative will be reactivated as of now."

Maria nodded once, "Yes, sir. I will contact Agent Romanov right away."


	3. Chapter 3

"Bruce, Why didn't you wake me? I- Oh." Dalia stopped short once she saw that it wasn't him coming through the door. Instead, it was a pretty redhead with a black dress and shawl covering her arms. The two women stared each other down.

"Romanov."

"Harrington."

Dalia grinned. "Hayward, actually. But you knew that."

Natasha smirked in return and walked around a table.

"What brings you here?"

"Nick Fury wants you back in the operation."

There was an intake of breath and then, "You just cut straight to the point, don't you, 'Tasha?" Dalia crossed her arms and leaned towards the wall beside her. Natasha furrowed her eyebrows and gave a sympathetic half smile.

"There was an incident back at the base. The Tesseract-"

"What?" Dalia knew what the Tesseract was. She'd read about it in her books. She just hadn't known it was real.

"It's an ancient artifact SHIELD discovered about a year ago, It was stolen last night. Barton.. Barton and Selvig have been taken along with it. Fury is recruiting everyone."

"Why could I possibly help with?"

"Dalia. We need all the help we can get." Natashas tone was clipped. Clint was a weak spot for her. Dalia uncrossed her arms, giving in.

"What am I going to tell Bruce?" She asked softly.

"You don't have to worry about that."


	4. Chapter 4

Dalia was led into a helicopter with Natasha. As she was seated, she noticed a man across from her, checking her out. She grimaced slightly and tried to smile politely before averting her eyes.

"So you're Harrington?" The man asked, eyes still roaming.

"_Hayward._ Dalia Hayward."

"Why the name change?"

Dalia sighed, "I didn't want to deal with nosey reporters."

The man snorted and grinned at her. "Maybe you shoulda' changed both yer names, you know?"

He stuck his right hand out. "The names Joey McAdams!" Dalia tentatively shook his hand. "Nice to meet you, Joey."

"I'm from Brooklyn. Where're you from?"

"Ah."

Dalia didn't answer as she had no interest in holding a conversation with this man, He seemed too boisterous for her taste. She looked him over through the corner of her eye. He was lanky and slim, even in his bulky uniform. He looked overly comfortable, sitting slouched with his arms draped across his legs. And he was _way_ too cheerful for a SHIELD agent. He must have been new.

As if he read her mind, "I'm a rookie." He said, flashing her a toothy grin before narrowing his eyes and scrutinizing her. "Y'know. You don't look like much."

Instead of responding to him, she raised her eyebrows, waiting for him to continue.

"Nick said yer' some kinda' super shrew."

Dalia burst into laughter. Joey furrowed his brow in confusion, leaning over he asked, "What? What'd I say?" She wiped her eye, as if she had shed a tear from laughing and peered up at him.

"Oh, is _that_ what he thinks about me?"

Joey leaned back, confused. Natasha turned her head to look at the two agents in the back, from her passengers seat.

"Adams. Enough." She snapped.

"It's fine, Nat." Dalia defended. Though she didn't like him, he was just a rookie. And he didn't look more then, what? Twenty? He was a child in her eyes. She settled back into her seat and closed her eyes. The sooner they arrived at their destination, the sooner she would see Bruce.

**I think I'm going to be giving Joey a semi-big role in this series. Or at least until a certain point. Loki won't be appearing for a few more chapters, I know, disappointment- I'm sorry. Stick with me, loves!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Two chapters in one day- La di da! You're breaking my heart, You're tearing it apart so fuck you! All I want from you are one or even two re-views. -Harry Nilsson, You're Breaking My Heart. RedBenchArty-style, Yeah?**

When she first noticed Bruce on the helicarrier, she didn't call out. She stood there, observing him. He looked nervous and uncertain, wringing his hands and watching troops walk by. He was afraid of harming people. Dalia mused about the day they confronted each other about their secrets. He was astonished at how sedate she was once he revealed his secret to her. She, herself, was pretty amazed at how well he had taken it once she told him she was a former SHIELD agent. Especially after he told her about the Other Guy.

"Y'awake in there, Lia?" Joey slapped her across her head. Dalia whipped around, shooting a glare at him for breaking her from her fond memories. He merely flashed her his famous grin- or so it had become in the few hours she had known him- and strolled off. _They would never get along_, she decided, shaking her head and making her way through the many SHIELD soldiers towards Bruce.

"Bruce!" He turned around frantically, searching for the source of the voice. "Dalia?"

She finally got through the mass of people and was right in front of him. He reached out and pulled her into him. "What are you doing here?" He mumbled into her hair. If he was surprised by her appearance, he didn't show it.

"They wanted me back. Just for this mission." She clung to his already wrinkled jacket and shut her eyes. She had worried about leaving him back in Calcutta until Natasha told her he was needed as well. His job was to help detect the Tesseract, with his gamma radiation knowledge.

"You won't believe the guy I got saddled with in the helicopter." She muttered. Bruce let out a chuckle and ran his fingers through her hair. He was glad he didn't have to go through this alone. She was here, with him, and they'd finish this assignment _together. _There would be no incidents.

**Though reviews would be nice; feedback, constructive criticism, little cookie packages with messages of love and kind wishes for a good day, I don't really mind if you neglect it, it doesn't bother me. Not one bit. Cheers!**


	6. Chapter 6

**I stayed home today, strictly so I could write more for this story, That and I went into hibernation from the cold weather. I slept for hours within the warmth of my many duvets. Lengthier chapters, eh? That'll do. I'll try and make my chapters a minimum of 600 words, at least. I promise they'll get longer once the story begins to unfold more.**

"Rock."

"Scissors-Ah, Damn!" Joey cried out for the umpteenth time.

While waiting for the other recruits to arrive, Joey had wandered over towards the couple and stood beside them, awkwardly. It had been silent between the three but it didn't last long. Bruce was called over by Natasha, and Dalia was left alone with Joey. He started to complain about how unexciting it was, So, they initiated a game of rock, paper, scissors, winding up with the scores of: Dalia: 11, Joey: 2.

Suddenly a roaring jet appeared in the distance, heading for the helicarrier.

"Whoah, Check out that baby!" Joey yelled over all the noise. Dalias hair whipped around, from the force of the landing and flicked him in his eye. "'Ey!" He yelped, bringing a fist to his eye and rubbing at it. "It wasn't intentional!" She replied, holding in her laughter. Natasha had left Bruce by the hangar and now headed over to greet the arrivals. Dalia craned her neck to try and spot who it was that had been delivered.

A tall blond man stepped out of the jet with Phil Coulson. "S'Captain America." Joey remarked. Natasha was leading him over to Bruce. The two agents glance at each other before quickly making their way over towards them, not wanting to miss out on introductions. Dalia had just caught the last snippets of their conversation.

"Word is you can find the cube."

"Is that the only word on me?" Bruce asked, looking around nervously.

"Only word I care about." Captain America answered sincerely. Dalia smiled to herself and walked around him to stand by Bruce, nudging him playfully.

"Hello. I'm Dalia." She said, nodding to the Captain.

"Steve Rogers. And you are?" He asked, indicating to Joey.

"Joey McAdams. Rookie agent." He replied. He seemed to be proud of the fact he was a newcomer.

"Gentlemen, You may want to step inside in a minute. It's going to get a little hard to breathe." Natasha spoke up, suddenly.

The engines of the helicarrier began to start up as an announcement went off on the intercom. "Is this a submarine?" Bruce stiffened beside you. "Really? They want me submerged in a pressurized, metal container?" Dalia took his hand gently, leading him towards the edge of the carrier to peer over, along with Steve and Joey. The turbines fired up and it started to lift up out of the water. Men were running around, strapping down the jets, helicopters, and putting on oxygen masks. "No, no. This is much worse." Bruce groaned.

"Come on." Natasha said, leading the group inside. "Adams, show Hayward to her quarters." She turned to Dalia, "Your uniform is laid out for you. Get changed, Meet us back in the helm once you've finished."

Dalia saluted her, sarcastically, and turned to Joey. "Lead the way, rookie." He beemed at the reference before taking her arm, turning around, and marching down a hallway. She rolled her eyes and turned back to Bruce mouthing, "I _hate _him."

**Between studying, extra activities, and dealing with my friend who has just been brutally dumped -while I want nothing more than to shut myself off in my room with a few bottles of mango juice and my puppy- Now isn't the time for me to be anti-social. Off to help the poor sap.**


	7. Chapter 7

**I have returned from the dead.. depressed, and the hungry. And in my diagnosis, I declare him: A-Okay. Now back to my writings, No interruptions.**

"Watch where you point that!" Dalia snapped.

Joey was casually twirling his gun around his index finger, pausing randomly to aim at things, as if he were in a shooting range with enemies popping out of places, left and right. He had been bored waiting for Dalia. Unfortunately, she had just finished getting dressed and was leaving the bathroom when she came face to face with a gun being pointed at her forehead. Startled, he yelped and let go of the gun, then tried to catch it, clumsily.

"Could'a given me a warnin'!"

Dalia ignored him and wandered over to her bed, where she carelessly tossed her old clothes. There was a small nightstand dresser beside her bed with a lamp and an alarm clock. Standard SHIELD bedrooms all looked the same. She had tried to brighten the room up when she previously worked there, sticking a few posters to the walls but it just looked out of place and so she took them down right after. Inside her dresser, she remembered, a thick book of fables was left behind, having forgotten to take it with her when she left the organization.

"It's still here!" She exclaimed, pulling it out and brushing a thin layer of dust off the cover. "What's that?" Joey asked, peering over her shoulder at the object in her hands. She plopped down onto her bed, staring at her book, lovingly.

"It's a book I left here. My favourite collections of fairy tales." Dalia expected Joey to laugh and brush her off for reading childish stories but he stood there, looking down at her, expectantly.

"What? You aren't going to tease me about it?"

"D'you want me to?"

"You just.. You seemed like the kind of person who would."

Joey shook his head and sat down, joining her on her bed. "I grew up with five older brothers. My pa never read me bedtime stories."

"What about your mother?" She asked, softly.

Joey shrugged, looking down at his hands. "Dead. I was the youngest of the fam n' my brothers were all scrappers, picked on me all the time." He rubbed his nose with his hand, sniffing. "Anyways, that's why I wanted t'work for SHIELD. I wanna' toughen' up. Make my dad proud, you know?" Joey pounded on his chest once, grinning.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked." Dalia said, shamefully. The truth was, she knew how he felt. Though both her parents were still alive, they preferred her older sister to her because she had always been so immensely stuck in her daydreams. They had sent her off to a Military camp when she was of age, thinking it would bring her back down to reality. Instead, it was where SHIELD discovered her. She hadn't contacted her family back since. For all they knew, she had run away with a caravan of gypsies and thieves.

"S'okay." He grinned, "Tell me about some stories, sometime, will ya'?"

"You'd want that?" Dalia was shocked. Bruce was the only one who would listen to her rant mindlessly about her favourite tales and heroic adventures. She certainly didn't expect this man to ever even glance at works of fiction. Or a book, more less.

"Only if you wouldn't mind.." he replied, sheepishly. But before Dalia could give an answer, he went off onto another topic.

"So.. _That's _your uniform?" She was wearing the common SHIELD uniform. The only difference was she had worn the vest which she brought from Calcutta. "Thought you would've been given somethin' .. flashy. Like the Cap'n." Dalia rolled her eyes and replied humorously, "I'm only an agent, Joey. I don't have super strength or crazy high-tech gadgets other than the ones from SHIELD." She stood, lending a hand to her friend and pulling him up alongside her. "In fact, I really don't have a role in this at all. I just want this to be over with so I can go home with Bruce."

**Little do you know, Dalia. Little do you know. Well, how about that? Some background to Dalia and Joey. **


	8. Chapter 8

**In response to the guest reviewer, Yes, It's Rominov. And that is what I had originally wrote, until I went onto wiki and saw "Rominoff." Totally blew my mind and confused me, but I'll change them back to Rominovs, since I think that is the correct spelling. Thanks for the review.**

Dalia and Joey had finally emerged from her quarters and proceeded towards the helicarriers helm, idly chatting away as they walked. She decided she didn't _quite_ hate him as much as she thought.

"Where is everyone? Big guy, Cap'n, Romanov?" Joey asked, once they arrived in the room full of computers and agents, working away on them. Nick Fury stepped down from his pedestal.

"Loki has been detected. We're sending the Captain to retrieve him and bring him back for interrogation." He turned to Dalia, "Hayward. Glad to have you back on the team."

"Only temporarily. Glad you got the name right, though." She glanced at Joey, who had began to frown in confusion. Or concentration. She couldn't tell.

"Where'd you find him?" He asked.

"Stuttgart. Germany. We are preparing for a jet to set off with the Captain and Romanov as we speak."

"So, Where's Bruce?" Dalia asked, tentatively.

"He was brought to the laboratory." Nick answered. He then turned back to his agents and started barking commands. Maria Hill and Dalia made eye contact briefly and smiled at each other. Maria had been her mentor while she was working at SHIELD and she looked up to her.

"C'mon. I'll show you where it is." Joey said, tugging on Dalias arm. He led her back down the hallway they had come in from and steered right. They continued walking until they came to a row of reinforced glass windows. Inside, Dalia could see Bruce typing away furiously at a keypad. He had taken his brown jacket off and put his glasses on.

"He looks so cute when he's engrossed in something." She whispered. Joey let out a sharp laugh and slapped his hands over his mouth. "Sorry." He murmured, "You two are real' in love, huh?"

Love was never something Dalia and Bruce had spoken of. They were close, they held hands, they slept in the same bed together, and they kissed. Just never on the lips. Both were too timid to initiate it first, though they were slowly getting more comfortable in their relationship.

Instead of answering, Dalia flashed him a smile, punched him playfully in the arm, and pushed the release button on the side of the wall. The doors opened with a whoosh, making Bruce look up from the screen he was inspecting. As the two agents strolled in, Joey socked her back on her shoulder. Not wanting to withdraw from the challenge, she punched him back harder.

By the time they reached Bruce in ten long strides, they were smacking at each other like children. Dalia giggled and wrapped an arm around Bruce's waist. He looked at her, adoringly and tucked his face into the nook between her head and shoulder, pressing his lips to her ear. "And I thought you hated him." He teased.

"He's a child." She whispered back, "And I may have been too quick to judge."

"Hey, I heard that." Joey spat. "I'm twenty-one for yer' information."

"You're not that much older than him, Dalia." Bruce was siding with Joey, all in favor of mocking her for the moment. They were all in high spirits. Loki was located, Steve and Natasha were on their way to catch him, and soon, They would have the tesseract back. Meaning Bruce could leave with Dalia and Joey... Well, he was just in a good mood. Maybe he'd get promoted.

He crossed his fingers in hope at the thought.

"I'm seven years older. I think that's a sufficient age gap!"

Joey nudged Bruce in the ribs, "An' how old are you? Thirty-thr- Wait." He started counting on his fingers. "Thirty-five? Another _sufficient_ age gap?"

Bruce stiffened and quietly said, "I'm forty."

The room grew tense and Joey eyes widened. Dalia sent him a piercing glare and he grew hot with embarrassment .

"I-I'm sorry, man. You don't look more than mid thirties. Ya' age well..." Joey bit his lips and puffed out his reddened cheeks, realizing he just made it worse.

Turning to Dalia, Bruce hunched over just slightly. "No, It's fine. I understand how strange it must seem; An old man with a pretty young woman."

He set his gaze on the floor, chagrined with the revelation of his age. In a sudden rush, Dalia had flung herself towards him, reaching up and cupping his face in her hands. She furrowed her eyebrows and scrutinized every aspect of his face. "Bruce, we're twelve years apart. I've known couples, wives and husbands, that were_ twenty_ years apart."

"Like my mom and pa'!" Joey piped in, "They were eighteen apart."

"You know it doesn't change how I feel about you and I couldn't care less what anyone else thinks about it." She continued.

"I just feel like you could do better." Bruce whispered, looking back and forth between her two eyes.

"Bruce, stop condemning yourself!"

Then, She leaned up and kissed him.


	9. Chapter 9

**It's business, it's business time! I know what you're trying to say, You're trying to say it's time for business - it's business time, Ooh!**

Dalia and Bruce couldn't stop gazing at each other. He would be working, tapping images and opening sources on the clear touch screen monitor, then suddenly, he'd lose concentration and start staring at Dalia. She would be across the room, either small talking with Joey, or reading up on the results that Bruce had found on a tablet, when she'd feel his stare and meet his charcoal eyes with her hazelnut ones. Then came the love struck smiles and faint giggles.

"You guys **have** to stop this!"

They both turned to Joey. He had been so quiet throughout the whole time that his sudden outburst was startling. "You're actin' like high scholars!" Suddenly realizing his temper, he softened his tone, bashfully. They were not acquainted enough yet, to be yelling like such. "What if Fury came by and saw you two makin' googly-eyes at each other?"

"Googly-eyes...?" Dalia tried to stifle her laughter but Bruce just rearranged his glasses and set his eyes back down to the work on his desk. She turned back to her tablet and after a moment, smiled to herself.

That was their first kiss. It had only lasted a couple of seconds before she was well aware of her actions and released the hold she had on his purple shirt to pull away. The room had, once again, filled with an awkward silence. Joey scrambled off to the side, beat red, the moment Dalia latched onto Bruce and continued to stare at the metal wall, as if it contained the most interesting artifact he had ever seen. The two stared at each other, completely stunned, but then Bruce's lips twitched into a shy smile. He pulled her back to him and bent his head to place a small peck on her lips.

Suddenly, a loud buzzing and vibration broke Dalia from her thoughts. At the same moment Joey pulled a pager from his back pocket. Following him, she reached into her own pocket and produced her own pager. A message read: "Agent Hayward- Report to the training floor immediately."

"Did you get the same message?" Joey nodded without even looking up from his pager, knowing what was coming next.

"I'll see you later."

"I'll be...here." Bruce assured her, laughing. "They won't be asking me to perform any heroic tasks anytime soon."

Dalia took his hand and squeezed it, leaning up to kiss his cheek. He moved his head away, grinning at her puzzled expression. She thought she was being rejected. Tightening his grip on her hand, he blurted: "We're back to that, are we?" making Dalias eyebrows shoot up as she smirked back at her lover, understanding why he moved.

Bruce bent down and softly pressed his lips to hers, weaving his hand through her hair. In return, she pulled him even closer, arms going around his neck.

And poor Joey stood awkwardly at the doorway, looking everywhere but at the couple.

"..This is new."

The training room had equipment ranging from tire tracks, ropes, and punching bags to shooting ranges, with moving targets, and spike pits. Joey raced over to the weights and instantly set his sights on a 100 pound dumbbell. "Hey, 'Lia! Watch this."

Dalia shook her head. _'What a child...'_

Joey grabbed the metal bar and tugged upward, grunting. It didn't even budge. He tried again, shifting his position.

"Joey! You'll break your back! Head up, head up!" Dalia cried, rushing over to him.

Popping noises echoed the room as Joeys joints cracked, as well as his grunting and groaning. Dalia threw her hands up in the air, "Spread your legs!" He squeezed his eyes shut, sweat pouring from his forehead. "I'm tryin'!"

Maria Hill had only just arrived to greet them but stood outside, shocked at what she had heard from the open crack of the metal doors.

"Don't stop breathing! Continue breathing! Joey-"

The metal doors opened and Maria stepped in, deciding to intervene, but what she witnessed was not the foolish scenario she had imagined up in the heat of the moment.  
Instead, she found a very flushed and clammy Agent Adams on the floor, being pinned down underneath the bar of a 100 pound weight. Dalia stood over him, pulling on her locks of hair in anxiety.

"Adams. What are you _doing_?" She snapped.

He jerked at the sound of her voice and bumped the bar, making it shift and screech across the floor a little ways.

"Maria, hello!" Dalia stepped in front of him and smiled at the older woman.

"Adams, get off the floor and act your age." She continued to snap, craning her neck around Dalia to shoot daggers at him through her eyes. Clearing her throat slightly, she switched to a more pleasant tone, "Hello Dalia. Welcome back to the operation."

Dalia was about to once again, enforce that she wasn't _staying_ but Maria cut to the chase.

"It has come to the conclusion that you two will be working together on this mission."

"What!?" Both the agents exclaimed. One of disdain and the other of regard.

Joey had just finished squirming out from under the dumbbell and stood up, only to trip over it and fall back down on the floor, earning a loud smack.

Ignoring him, Maria proceeded to explain, "Adams is new but he knows his way around. He's useful with more of the hands-on jobs, He may not look it, but he's a fine handyman."

_'Who can't even lift a dumbbell?'_ Dalia questioned, silently. How, oh, how did he even get a position at SHIELD?

"Hayward, on the other hand, has only just returned, but she has good tactics and strategies. We felt you would complement each other. And I quote, from one of the agents, "It's a perfect partnership."

Dalia reluctantly glanced at her new partner. She knew better then to argue, though it looked like Joey was having a hard time keeping his mouth shut. Anyone who has encouraged people to ask more questions had clearly never given orders to Joey.

"Am I understood?"

"This'll be fun..." She murmured.

_'It's fine. This will be over soon enough. I'll only have to bear with it for a few more weeks and I'll be back in Calcutta with Bruce.' _She kept telling herself. Sometimes SHIELD missions would take months to accomplish. This would not be one of them. She was sure of it.

**I'm kind of running low on ideas for this story. I have a general idea of how it's going to turn out and how she is introduced to Loki, but other than that, I'm sunk. Any suggestions would be welcome!**


	10. Chapter 10

**Thank you DoctorMerlinFan for the review! I totally appreciate it. Whoever says you can't be woken up by a kiss has never risen to the smooches of a cold, wet dog tongue. Anyways hope you enjoy this chapter.**

Joey had indeed earned the impression Maria had on him. While he could not lift a 100 pound dumbbell, he was quick and he had fast reflexes. Dalia had decided to start off with a friendly race and he lapped her once and almost a second time as they ran the perimeter of the training room. The races they had after weren't so 'friendly.' He'd beaten Dalia every single time. Luckily for her, while he was a blue streak when it came to athletic actions, he was a terrible aim. His weapon of choice was always the pepper gun and so he was awful at long-ranged attacks.

"A'right, fine! I admit defeat!" He finally shouted out, collapsing to the ground. Dalia smirked and set down the gun she had chosen. Victory, finally. She'd beaten him, 28/30 - 8/30.

She sighed and plopped down next to him. "I'm going to take a nice, long, hot shower tonight. My limbs ache all over."

Silently agreeing, Joey stretched his arms above his head and tried to crack his neck. When he failed in doing so, he decided to speak up. "We should probably head back then. Unless you'd like me to outrun ya' once more."

"No, thank you!"

Dalia decided the team wouldn't be so bad. Her partner was growing on her. He was annoying most of the time and he talked way too much, but she could already feel her closed walls being broken down.

She groaned as she stood up, wiping sweat from her brow. "Forget taking that shower later tonight, I need one _now_."

"Me too, I'll come with you."

Joey suddenly blushed deep red and stammered, "I- I mean, I'm gonna' take one too. In MY room. I didn't mean-"

Laughing, Dalia cut him off. "It's okay. I understood what you meant."

Rubbing the back of his head, he prayed her boyfriend wasn't the overly-jealous type, and got up to follow her back.

-

Joey was laying, stomach down on her floor, flipping through her storybook. She couldn't help but smile at his expressions . They had both taken showers- in their contemporary rooms- and met up again in Dalia's room, waiting to be paged again.

"How come yer' so facinated by these stories?" He asked, picking up the heavy book and turning it sideways.

"They kept me company, I guess. I never really fit in with my classmates at school, so fairy tales were an escapism for me."

_-  
flashback_

_She was kept away from civilization. Kept cooped up in a little hut in the woods, with only her ill-tempered mother as company. Her name was Finola and the only person who would ever visit her was a dwarf who was mute. He'd bring them a sack of corn once a month and out of kindness, she'd make him a little cake._

_"HEY!"_

_Finola didn't know it and neither did the dwarf, but both of them were under a spell._

_"DAAALA!"_

_But Dalia knew it because she was the reader._

_"HEY GEEK!"_

_Brutally ripped from the fantasy, she came to that realization as she finally looked up and noticed why her fantasy had been sucked right out from under her._

_Her classmate stood in front of her, chubby little fists curled up and on her hips- Trying to imitate an authority figure. She made a sour face at the little Dalia, sitting on the concrete steps of their schoolyard. _

_"Why are you doing homework, Dala?"_

_"It's not homework! I'm reading about a princess and dwarf!"_

_The little girl wrinkled her nose._

_"You mean a princess and a _knight_! Dwarfs are ugly and can't be with princesses!"_

_"The dwarf turns into a knight! I don't think they're ugly! This dwarf gave his eyeballs to a fairy to save the princess so he could be marry her!"_

_She had begun to talk so encouragingly, afraid that this girl would leave with the wrong impression of her story and dwarfs in general, she just couldn't stop rambling, trying to prove her point._

_"That's gross! If he has no eyeballs then it proves he's an ugly dwarf, so there!"_

_"No, but-!"_

_Her classmate ran away from her. It had hurt at the time because Dalia was a little girl. She felt like something was wrong with her. She wished she had the power of nature, she'd shroud herself with vines and branches, making them grow all around her. The kids in her elementary school may not want to play hide and seek with her, so it'd be pointless to want it for that reason.. but at least she could hide herself when they started to bother her._

_-  
"Dalia, we've told you before.. No reading at the dinner table."_

_Dalia- now in her early teens- bashfully tucked the book away under the table. _

_Her mother sighed and spooned out more peas onto her own plate._

_"Really. You need to grow up. Those stories are for _children_." Dalias sister said, sticking her nose up._

_"I have to agree with Summer, there." Their dad said._

_It wasn't fair. He was reading the newspaper at the table right now! And just last night Summer brought her calculus textbook to read over supper. She even made a mess of the tablecloth because she wasn't paying attention to where the direction of her spoon was headed. It resulted in a tomato stain on the white linen. Did she get punished for it? Noo. Her parents had laughed over it, telling her she would never be a multi-tasker._

_-  
"And they ruled wisely, together in their kingdom for many years after."_

_Not a single congratulatory clap was heard. Not one sign of appreciation. _

_"Very nice, Harrington. But next time, do your book report on a non-fictional book."_

_The classroom erupted with giggles and Dalia bowed her head in embarrassment. She wished someone would stand up for her. She has spoken back many, many times to defend herself but the majority always ruled her out and she began to keep it in. _

Joey made a face at her as he watched her fade in and out of time. He waited patiently for her to come back to the current moment and as soon as her eyes began to blink rapidly at the recovery from her memories, he blurted, "I'm sorry. I'm sorry to hear that."

"It's okay. I have Bruce now. And Maria was always kind to me while I was employed here." Dalia reached over and tried to ruffle Joeys short hair. "And you're alright, I guess."

"Alright? Oh, I'm _better_ than alright." He retorted hotly.

They chucked at each other and continued to wait on.

**No Bruce this chapter. :( But guess who we're meeting next chapter? Two certain Norse Gods and a playboy philanthropist ring some bells?**

***By the way, Dwarves are ugly? You have obviously not seen The Hobbit! Kili and Thorin, man. Whooo-eee!***


End file.
